NOVEMBER 27 (Sat.) STEPHEN DWOSKIN
Stephen Dwoskin, born in Brooklyn, New York, contracted Polio at the age of seven and was left disabled. After studying art with de Kooning and Albers, he attended NYU and the Parsons School of Design. He soon discovered experimental cinema and was influenced by the transgressive underground films of Jack Smith and Ron Rice. This led to the publishing of his book, FILM IS. He began making his own films and moved to Britain in 1964 where he has lived ever since. He was one of the founders of the London Film-makers Cooperative. His features, beginning in the 1970s, attracted much attention and critical acclaim, along with strong controversy.
THE SUN AND THE MOON, US PREMIERE (60min. 2007)
This video is some kind of enforced domestic cinema: an excessive video film in which the maker does not spare himself. Short of breath, in the absence of the spoken word. "The Sun and the Moon, a film fairy tale, is about two women's terrifying encounter with 'Otherness' in the form of a man, abject and monstrous, and for them to either to witness, accept or partake in his annihilation. All are caught in their own isolation and are fearful of the menace that has to be met. The film, as a personal interpretation of Beauty and the Beast, enciphers concerns, beliefs and desires in seductive images that are themselves a form of camouflage, making it possible to utter harsh truths." -S.D.
NIGHTSHOTS (1,2,3) (33min. 2006-2007)
Shot utilizing the "night vision" function of a digital video camera, these films deal with one person's perspective on sexuality, with the visual distortion and off-kilter color balance of the low-light camera adding to the film's unique point of view. Nightshots 1,2,3 was screened in competition at the 2007 Rotterdam International Film Festival. "The first three of a series of intriguing personal and erotic relationships, exploring in the intimacy of darkness, and transformed by the colour play of the night light." -S.D."Nightshots (1, 2, 3)" (2006-07)
